This document discusses various methods for collecting data in research. It describes qualitative and quantitative data, as well as primary and secondary data. Some key data collection methods covered include experiments, surveys, interviews/focus groups, observation, literature reviews, and case studies. For each method, the document discusses what it is, its pros and cons, and how to implement the methodology. The goal of the document is to provide an overview of different approaches to gathering raw facts and evidence for research.

1. DATA
COLLECTION
Research Methodology
Prof Dr Mohd Taufiq bin Ishak
Head of High Voltage and Sustainable Energy Group
(HVSE)
Deputy DirectorofCentreofResearch Defence(CODRAT)

2. DATACOLLECTION
• The process of gathering raw facts or evidence about a subject
of interest in a systematic way, that enables one to answer
stated research questions and evaluate outcomes.
• It can also be defined as gathering of information (figures,
words or responses) that describes some situation from which
conclusions can be drawn.

3. TYPES OFDATA
• Qualitative data – ideas, experiencesand meanings, or to study something that can’t
be described numerically
• Examples: Words, images, observations, conversations, photographs.
• Quantitative data – data that have been assigned some numerical value
• Examples: Numbers, tests, counting,measuring
• You can also take a mixed methods approach, where you use both qualitative and
quantitative research methods.

4. TYPES OFDATA
Pros Cons
Qualitative  Flexible – you can often adjust your
methods as you go to develop new
knowledge.
 Can be conducted with small
samples.
 Can’t be analyzed statistically or
generalized to broader
populations.
 Difficult to standardize research.
Quantitative  Can be used to systematically
describe large collections of things.
 Generates reproducible knowledge.
 Requires statistical training to
analyze data.
 Requires larger samples

5. TYPES OF DATA
Primary vs. secondary data
• Primary data is any original information that you collect for the purposes
of answering your research question (e.g. through surveys,
observations and experiments).
• Secondary data is information that has already been collected by other
researchers (e.g. in a government census or previous scientific studies).

6. TYPES OF DATA
Pros Cons
Primary  Can be collected to answer your
specific research question.
 You have control over the
sampling and measurement
methods.
 More expensive and time-
consuming to collect.
 Requires training in data collection
methods.
Secondary  Easier and faster to access.
 You can collect data that spans
longer timescales and broader
geographical locations.
 No control over how data was
generated.
 Requires extra processing to make
sure it works for your analysis.

7. TYPES OF DATA
Descriptive vs. experimental data
In descriptive research, you collect data about your study subject without
intervening. The validity of your research data will depend on your
sampling method.
In experimental research, you systematically intervene in a process and
measure the outcome. The validity of your research data will depend on
your experimental design.

8. TYPES OF DATA
Descriptive vs. experimental data
Descriptive  Allows you to describe your
research subject without influencing
it.
 Accessible – you can gather more
data on a larger scale.
 No control over confounding variables.
 Can’t establish cause and effect
relationships.
Experimental  More control over confounding
variables.
 Can establish cause and effect
relationships.
 You might influence your research subject
in unexpected ways.
 Usually requires more expertise and
resources to collect data.

9. DATACOLLECTION
Before you begin collecting data, you need to consider:
• The aim of the research
• The type of data that you will collect
• The methods and procedures you will use to collect,
store, and process the data

10. COLLECTIONDATAMETHODS
Research
method
Primary or
secondary?
Qualitative or
quantitative?
When to use
Experiment Primary Quantitative To test cause-and-effect relationships.
Survey Primary Quantitative To understand general characteristics of a
population.
Interview/focus
group
Primary Qualitative To gain more in-depth understanding of a topic.
Observation Primary Either To understand how something occurs in its natural
setting.
Literature
review
Secondary Either To situate your research in an existing body of
work, or to evaluate trends within a research topic.
Case study Either Either To gain an in-depth understanding of a specific
group or context, or when you don’t have the
resources for a large study.

11. Methods
Experiment
 The prime method of inquiry in science is the experiment. The key features are control
over variables, careful measurement, and establishing cause and effect relationships.
 An experiment is an investigation in which a hypothesis is scientifically tested. In an
experiment, an independent variable (the cause) is manipulated and the dependent
variable (the effect) is measured; any extraneous variables are controlled.
 An advantage is that experiments should be objective. The views and opinions of the
researcher should not affect the results of a study. This is good as it makes the data
more valid, and less bias.

12. Methods
Experiment
 There are three types of experiments need to know:
 Laboratory / Controlled Experiments
 Field Experiments
 Natural Experiments.

13. Methods
Experiment- Laboratory / Controlled Experiments
• This type of experiment is conducted in a well-controlled
environment – not necessarily a laboratory – and
therefore accurate measurements are possible.
• The researcher decides where the experiment will take
place, at what time, with which participants, in what
circumstances and using a standardized procedure.
Participants are randomly allocated to each independent
variable group.

14. Methods
Experiment- Field Experiments
• Are done in the everyday (i.e. real life) environment of the
participants. The experimenter still manipulates the
independent variable, but in a real-life setting (so cannot really
control extraneous variables).
• Strength: Behavior in a field experiment is more likely to
reflect real life because of its natural setting, i.e. higher
ecological validity than a lab experiment.
• Limitation: There is less control over extraneous variables that
might bias the results.

15. Methods
Experiment- Natural Experiments
• Natural experiments are conducted in the everyday (i.e. real life) environment
of the participants, but here the experimenter has no control over the
Independence Variable as it occurs naturally in real life.
• Strength: Behavior in a natural experiment is more likely to reflect real life
because of its natural setting, i.e. very high ecological validity.
• Can be used in situations in which it would be ethically unacceptable to
manipulate the independent variable, e.g. researching stress.
• Limitation: They may be more expensive and time consuming than lab
experiments.

16. Methods
Experiment- Natural Experiments
• A well-known natural experiment in Helena, Montana, smoking was banned
from all public places for a six-month period. Investigators later reported a 60-
percent drop in heart attacks for the study area during the time the ban was in
effect.

17. Methods
Survey
 Survey research is often used to assess thoughts, opinions, and
feelings. Survey research can be specific and limited, or it can
have more global, widespread goals.
 Today, survey research is used by a variety of different groups.
Psychologists and sociologists often use survey research to
analyze behavior.
 While it is also used to meet the more pragmatic needs of the
media, such as, in evaluating political candidates, public health
officials, professional organizations, and advertising and
marketing directors.

18. Methods
Survey
 Surveys provide a means of measuring a population’s characteristics,
self-reported and observed behavior, awareness of programs, attitudes
or opinions, and needs.
 Repeating surveys at regular intervals can assist in the measurement of
changes over time. These types of information are invaluable in
planning and evaluating government policies and programs.

19. Methods
Focus Group Discussion/ Interview
 A focus group discussion (FGD) is an in-depth field method
that brings together a small homogeneous group (usually
six to twelve persons) to discuss topics on a study agenda.
 The purpose of this discussion is to use the social dynamics
of the group, with the help of a moderator/ facilitator, to
stimulate participants to reveal underlying opinions,
attitudes, and reasons for their behavior.
 In short, a well facilitated group can be helpful in finding out
the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of human behavior.

20. Methods
What Methodologies are used for Focus Groups?
To conduct focus group discussions, you need to decide about the
following essential aspects:
• Discussion Standards: You need to decide whether you want the
participants to cater to specific questions or include other general ideas.
• Number of Sessions: You may conduct one or more session according
to the depth of answers you are looking for.

21. Methods
What Methodologies are used for Focus Groups?
To conduct focus group discussions, you need to decide about the
following essential aspects:
• Number of Groups: You may decide to hold multiple focus groups,
each of different categories like age, gender, health status, income
status, etc.
• Participant Quantity: The average number of focus group participants
is 6-10. However, you may choose a smaller or larger group.

22. Methods
Interview
 Interviewing involves asking questions and getting
answers from participants in a study. Interviewing has a
variety of forms including individual, face-to-face
interviews and face-to-face group interviewing.
 The asking and answering of questions can be
mediated by the telephone or other electronic devices
(e.g. computers).

23. Methods
What are the Requirements for conducting Interviews?
• A set of questions that you need to cover
• Ways to communicate with the respondent—face-to-face, phone, or
video conference
• Find respondents relevant to your research topic who are ready to give
the interview

24. Methods
Observation
What is it?
 Information collected through observation rather than
conversation
 Using structured, close-ended checklists to collect
quantifiable information
 Looking for specific object, behaviour or event against a
checklist e.g. Household using soap? Damage to health
center? Students participating in classroom?

25. Methods
Observation
Types of data collection methods?
 Participant observation – researcher participates
in context (e.g. anthropologists)
 Direct observation – researchers observes
context (e.g. psychologists or clinical research)


26. Methods
Observation - Methodology
Here are a few methods of observation for you to choose from.
• Casual or Scientific: A casual observation does not require a technical set-up
or measurement, whereas a scientific observation requires measurement
tools.
• Natural: It is done in a natural environment without altering the behavior of
individuals or the setting.
• Objective and Subjective: Objective observation includes observing the
setting or individuals, while subjective observation refers to monitoring your
own experiences.

27. Methods
Literature Review
• In this type of data collection method, you need not deal with any
other individual. If you have access to essential existing sources
such as documents and records, you can use them to collect data.
The data you will get will be secondary data and may be quantitative
or qualitative in nature.
• Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is a secondary study to map,
identify, critically evaluate, consolidate, and collect the results of
relevant primary studies on a certain research topic.
• SLR becomes a standard method to obtain an answer by performing
a literature review based on the previous relevant studies.

28. Methods
Literature Review
• The purpose of performing SLR is to summarize the previous research,
to identify the gap which needed to be fulfilled between the previous
and the current research, to produce a coherent report/synthesis, and
to make a research framework.
• SLR consists of several stages. They are determining the research
question, selecting the corresponding research, mining the required
data, analyzing and describing the discovery.

29. Methods
Case study
 Case studies are in-depth investigations of a single person,
group, event or community.
 Typically data are gathered from a variety of sources and by
using several different methods (e.g. observations &
interviews).
 The case study research method originated in clinical medicine
(the case history, i.e. the patient’s personal history).

30. Methods
Case study
 The case study method often involves simply observing what
happens to, or reconstructing ‘the case history’ of a single
participant or group of individuals (such as a school class or a
specific social group).
 Case studies allow a researcher to investigate a topic in far
more detail than might be possible if they were trying to deal
with a large number of research participants (nomothetic
approach) with the aim of ‘averaging’.

31. THANKYOU!
mtaufiq@upnm.edu.my